I met my hosts last night, they are utterly delightful people and we had a very interesting evening discussing France, Brazil and South Africa (she is Brazilian, he is French) while drinking good red wine. I am about to head into the first talk I wish to attend today so I only have a few seconds, but I can add that the first set of pictures are no uploaded (I have real broadband here… it is amazing)
So I arrived in Paris yesterday morning, armed with a metro daypass and a new friend (Steven Sheu of the RBDL project) I set out to explore the city of lights – very heavy luggage in tow. We made it Trocadero and looked upon the Eiffel tower from the top terrasse… thought about carrying out luggage down all the stairs and terasses for a closer look – and decided no way ! ., So we went for beer instead, and afterward for Cantonese rice and Thai curry chicken. This morning, we took the train to Nancy where we've spent the day being introduced and interviewed mostly (I got interviewed by France Television !) . I have also spent it drinking huge ammounts of fluid since the sudden heat after a Jozi winter is something frightfull, nonetheless, it's a great experience so far. The geeks are out in full force and the vibe is alive. Even though I cannot understand most of the conversations happening around me – the sensation of ideas flowing and blossoming is as unmistakably in the air as heatwave. More details (and pix) to follow when I have more time.